Speaking task design and complexity and fluency features of adolescent English learners.
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| Title: | Speaking task design and complexity and fluency features of adolescent English learners. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Chapman, Mark1 (AUTHOR) mark.chapman@wisc.edu, Montee, Meg2 (AUTHOR), Wang, Yangting3 (AUTHOR), West, Gordon Blaine1 (AUTHOR), Kemp, Jason A.1 (AUTHOR), Kim, Ahyoung Alicia1 (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Language Testing. Jan2026, Vol. 43 Issue 1, p37-65. 29p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Seventh grade (Education), *Language ability testing, *Limited English-proficient students, *Multilingual education, Task analysis |
| Geographic Terms: | United States |
| Abstract: | This paper reports the results of a study designed to explore the relationships between speaking test task variables and linguistic features of spoken responses on a speaking assessment for Grade 7 multilingual English learners (age 12–13) in U.S. public schools. Speaking task responses from 30 high-proficiency test takers were transcribed and coded for 14 complexity measures and 9 fluency measures. Subsequent analyses of simple main effects indicate that many of the complexity and fluency measures significantly differ by task variables. We observed more meaningful differences in the complexity measures, but fluency features also varied in the key area of pause time. The findings reveal that tasks designed to elicit extended spoken responses did indeed prompt spoken language with more complex features than tasks designed to elicit shorter, simpler responses across academic disciplines. Results of the effects of task variables on fluency measures indicate that Grade 7 students pause more in response to more complex tasks. The results provide some preliminary validity evidence for the assessment by indicating expected performance differences based on target task difficulty level and have implications for the design and scoring of speaking assessment tasks for young learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Language Testing is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 190283832 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Speaking task design and complexity and fluency features of adolescent English learners. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chapman%2C+Mark%22">Chapman, Mark</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> mark.chapman@wisc.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Montee%2C+Meg%22">Montee, Meg</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wang%2C+Yangting%22">Wang, Yangting</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22West%2C+Gordon+Blaine%22">West, Gordon Blaine</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kemp%2C+Jason+A%2E%22">Kemp, Jason A.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kim%2C+Ahyoung+Alicia%22">Kim, Ahyoung Alicia</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR) – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Language+Testing%22">Language Testing</searchLink>. Jan2026, Vol. 43 Issue 1, p37-65. 29p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Seventh+grade+%28Education%29%22">Seventh grade (Education)</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+ability+testing%22">Language ability testing</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Limited+English-proficient+students%22">Limited English-proficient students</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Multilingual+education%22">Multilingual education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Task+analysis%22">Task analysis</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+States%22">United States</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: This paper reports the results of a study designed to explore the relationships between speaking test task variables and linguistic features of spoken responses on a speaking assessment for Grade 7 multilingual English learners (age 12–13) in U.S. public schools. Speaking task responses from 30 high-proficiency test takers were transcribed and coded for 14 complexity measures and 9 fluency measures. Subsequent analyses of simple main effects indicate that many of the complexity and fluency measures significantly differ by task variables. We observed more meaningful differences in the complexity measures, but fluency features also varied in the key area of pause time. The findings reveal that tasks designed to elicit extended spoken responses did indeed prompt spoken language with more complex features than tasks designed to elicit shorter, simpler responses across academic disciplines. Results of the effects of task variables on fluency measures indicate that Grade 7 students pause more in response to more complex tasks. The results provide some preliminary validity evidence for the assessment by indicating expected performance differences based on target task difficulty level and have implications for the design and scoring of speaking assessment tasks for young learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Language Testing is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1177/02655322251328665 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 29 StartPage: 37 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Seventh grade (Education) Type: general – SubjectFull: Language ability testing Type: general – SubjectFull: Limited English-proficient students Type: general – SubjectFull: Multilingual education Type: general – SubjectFull: Task analysis Type: general – SubjectFull: United States Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Speaking task design and complexity and fluency features of adolescent English learners. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Chapman, Mark – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Montee, Meg – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Wang, Yangting – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: West, Gordon Blaine – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Kemp, Jason A. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Kim, Ahyoung Alicia IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Text: Jan2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 02655322 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 43 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Language Testing Type: main |
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